21 January 2025
Our January meeting marked the start of our 25th year of events since the Society was founded, as part of a Millennium Project to encourage community activities in the two villages. We welcomed old friends and several new members to hear from Nick Marshall about life “Below Stairs” in the Victoria Era.
In the days before labour-saving devices such as vacuum cleaners and washing machines, it was common for even a small household to employ at least one maid. A vicar or minor country squire might have half a dozen staff, including a cook, a gardener and a stable-hand to look after the horses that were then the only means of transport. Nick’s talk was mainly about the servants in larger establishments. Were they really as portrayed in series like Downton Abbey?
The world of domestic staff was very hierarchical, from the maids-of-all-work to the housekeeper on the female side, and from the pages to the butler on the male side. Indoor and outdoor staff rarely mixed, except for the head gardener who would enter the house to consult with the head cook. A wage survey in the 1890s showed that the annual salary might be £15 for a house- or kitchen-maid, £25 for a lady’s maid or footman, rising to £40-£60 for a housekeeper or butler. These figures could be supplemented by generous tips from guests if your employer was in the habit of entertaining. Bearing in mind that food, lodging and uniforms were also provided, the income compared favourably with factory work or manual labour, and the conditions were generally better. Some families were willing to pay much more to attract a prestigious chef, a head gardener who could grow exotic fruits – or a pair of footmen who were identical twins!
Servants’ working hours could be long: from 5 a.m. until after the family chose to go to bed, with only Sunday afternoons off and two days of annual leave. Hiring fairs took place at Lady Day and Michaelmas but most recruitment was by personal recommendation. Staff were not usually recruited from the local area because having family nearby might distract them from their work and there was a risk that they would pass on gossip about their employers! A female servant would usually be dismissed when she got married but if a male servant had good references, the skills he had acquired could be valuable in other types of work, e.g. as a steward in the military, a grocer or a factory supervisor. Many servants were able to build up savings from their income but otherwise, with no state pensions, provision for elderly staff depended on the goodwill of the family.